The Blonde's Guide to MMO Gaming Language – Pt. 1

No, this is not a computer language article – it is about the basic mistakes that most new MMO players make when it comes to the MMO gaming lingo that is used in game.

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Don't be a noob, noob...

As a blonde and an avid MMO gamer, I feel that I am highly qualified to write this article as many of these gaming faux pas I made myself as I started gaming... Ok, sometimes I still make them... Anyway – here is what you new gamers need to know when it comes to basic gamer language in any MMO game.

Noob – you'll get called this more than once, trust me, and while it might sound bad, it's ok to be a noob. This just means that you are new to the game and it shows. But, remember that all those players out there calling you a “noob” were just where you are at one time. You'll see this spelled noob and newb – both mean the same thing; a 'new player' to the game.

Aggro – this is when you have gotten too close to some mob that you did not really mean to fight. For more seasoned players, this can be a good thing – but for new players, it is not. Aggro is usually what causes you to attract unwanted attention from a monster that is ten levels above you and wipes you flat in one swipe.

Grind – this is what you get to do when you have done the quests that you needed to do, but you still need to gain some more experience points to move up to the next level. Now, in any MMO game out there, there will be times where you have to grind... there is no way around this. Don't let anyone tell you that they have never had to “grind out” a level or anything like that.... everyone has done it, and you will do it too.

XP – experience points. This is what you gain by doing quests and killing mobs to get to the next level. In just about every MMO game, you start off at level one and work your way up by gaining xp. At level 1-10, the xp you need is really low and you can level up really fast. As you work your way up the levels... it gets a bit longer and longer as the amount of xp you need to move on grows and grows. So, don't fret if you find that you are taking longer and longer to up your level as you go, this is normal.

OMG – just like it sounds, it stands for Oh My God. Normally girls will use this language in chats, but I've seen it done from macho guy gamers too – so it's ok to use this code, but don't overdo it as it does get really annoying and most people will either tag you as 1) too young or 2) too girly - neither of which is a good thing.

Instance – this is a dungeon that only you and a group of players can enter. This means that there will be no other players here with you if they are not in your group. These are called different things in different games, such as scenarios, raids, dungeons, and so on, but most players will refer to them as instances. So, when they want to group for an “instance”, it is not just for a short moment... these usually take about an hour or more to complete.

So, on that note, I'll leave you noobs to getting to know your specific MMO game of choice and I will be post more on this series to help you get to know the lingo better and better so you don't make a fatal mistake of calling someone out and getting creamed.